The differentiation and function of IL-17–producing Th17 cells are tightly regulated by specific transcription factors and cytokines, which are the key participants in the pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis (MS) and experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). Although specific miRNAs have been shown to be involved in the development of MS and EAE, the potential role of miRNAs in the context of Th17-driven autoimmunity is just beginning to be clarified. miR-20b has been reported as a downregulated miRNA in blood cells of MS patients. In this report, it was further studied in greater detail because we found it was significantly downregulated during EAE, and, in the in vitro differentiation model, Th17 cells had lower expression of miR-20b than did Th1, Th2, or inducible T regulatory cells. Ectopic expression of miR-20b repressed Th17 differentiation in vitro. Using lentiviral vectors for miR-20b overexpression in vivo, we demonstrated that overexpression of miR-20b led to decreased Th17 cells and reduced severity of EAE. Furthermore, we also identified both RAR-related orphan receptor γt and STAT3 as potential targets of miR-20b. Finally, we confirmed that the mild disease severity and low number of Th17 cells in LV-miR-20b–infected mice were largely reversed by coinfection of these mice with lentivirus-expressing RAR-related orphan receptor γt or STAT3 3′-untranslated regions. Taken together, our results contribute to the importance of miRNAs in Th17 differentiation and pathogenesis of MS and EAE.

Con A-induced fulminant hepatitis is a well-known animal model for acute liver failure. However, the role of γδ T cells in this model is undefined. In this report, using TCR δ(-/-) mice, we demonstrated a protective role of γδ T cells in Con A-induced hepatitis model. TCR δ(-/-) mice showed significantly decreased levels of IL-17A and IL-17F in the Con A-treated liver tissue, and reconstitution of TCR δ(-/-) mice with wild-type (Wt), but not IL-17A(-/-), γδ T cells significantly reduced hepatitis, strongly suggesting a critical role of IL-17A in mediating the protective effect of γδ T cells. Interestingly, only Vγ4, but not Vγ1, γδ T cells exerted such a protective effect. Furthermore, depletion of NKT cells in TCR δ(-/-) mice completely abolished hepatitis, and NKT cells from Con A-challenged liver tissues of TCR δ(-/-) mice expressed significantly higher amounts of proinflammatory cytokine IFN-γ than those from Wt mice, indicating that γδ T cells protected hepatitis through targeting NKT cells. Finally, abnormal capacity of IFN-γ production by NKT cells of TCR δ(-/-) mice could only be downregulated by transferring Wt, but not IL-17(-/-), Vγ4 γδ T cells, confirming an essential role of Vγ4-derived IL-17A in regulating the function of NKT cells. In summary, our report thus demonstrated a novel function of Vγ4 γδ T cells in mediating a protective effect against Con A-induced fulminant hepatitis through negatively regulating function of NKT cells in an IL-17A-dependent manner, and transferring Vγ4 γδ T cells may provide a novel therapeutic approach for this devastating liver disease.

Critical roles of IL-27 in autoimmune diseases and infections have been reported; however, the contribution of endogenous IL-27 to tumor progression remains elusive. In this study, by using IL-27p28 conditional knockout mice, we demonstrate that IL-27 is critical in protective immune response against methyl-cholanthrene–induced fibrosarcoma and transplanted B16 melanoma, and dendritic cells (DCs) are the primary source. DC-derived IL-27 is required for shaping tumor microenvironment by inducing CXCL-10 expression in myeloid-derived suppressor cells and regulating IL-12 production from DCs, which lead to the recruitment and activation of NK and NKT cells resulting in immunological control of tumors. Indeed, reconstitution of IL-27 or CXCL-10 in tumor site significantly inhibits tumor growth and restores the number and activation of NK and NKT cells. In summary, our study identifies a previous unknown critical role of DC-derived IL-27 in NK and NKT cell–dependent antitumor immunity through shaping tumor microenvironment, and sheds light on developing novel therapeutic approaches based on IL-27.

It has been demonstrated that the two main subsets of peripheral γδ T cells, Vγ1 and Vγ4, have divergent functions in many diseases models. Recently, we reported that Vγ4 γδ T cells played a protective role in tumor immunity through eomesodermin-controlled mechanisms. However, the precise roles of Vγ1 γδ T cells in tumor immunity, especially whether Vγ1 γδ T cells have any interaction with Vγ4 γδ T cells, remain unknown. We demonstrated in this paper that Vγ1 γδ T cells suppressed Vγ4 γδ T cell-mediated antitumor function both in vitro and in vivo, and this suppression was cell contact independent. Using neutralizing anti–IL-4 Ab or IL-4−/− mice, we determined the suppressive factor derived from Vγ1 γδ T cells was IL-4. Indeed, treatment of Vγ4 γδ T cells with rIL-4 significantly reduced expression levels of NKG2D, perforin, and IFN-γ. Finally, Vγ1 γδ T cells produced more IL-4 and expressed significantly higher level of GATA-3 upon Th2 priming in comparison with Vγ4 γδ T cells. Therefore, to our knowledge, our results established for the first time a negative regulatory role of Vγ1 γδ T cells in Vγ4 γδ T cell-mediated antitumor immunity through cell contact-independent and IL-4–mediated mechanisms. Selective depletion of this suppressive subset of γδ T cells may be beneficial for tumor immune therapy.

Understanding the role and underlying regulation mechanism of autophagy in lipopolysaccharide-induced lung injury (LPS-LI) may provide potentially new pharmacological targets for treatment of acute lung injury. The aim of this study was to investigate the functional significance of autophagy in LPS-LI. The autophagy of human pulmonary microvascular endothelial cells (HPMVECs) and mice was inhibited before they were challenged with LPS. In vitro, permeability, vitality, and the LDH release rate of the cells were detected, the zonula occluden-1 (ZO-1) expression and the stress fiber formation were determined. In vivo, the lung injury was assessed. We found LPS caused high permeability and increased lactate